Articles

Everything in Henry Imler’s life is full time. At 23, he is a full-time personal banker at Boone National Savings and Loan, a full-time senior majoring in philosophy and religious studies at Columbia College and a full-time husband.

Like many Columbia College students, Imler is an adult learner with responsibilities outside school. He spent the past two years taking night classes at Columbia College. This is his first semester in the day program.

People know that MU’s Ellis Library has books. What they may not know is that it has books they might never see anywhere else.

Although he didn’t immediately realize it, Michael Holland, the library’s University Archivist and interim head of Special Collections, made a rare find in the summer of 2003 when the library received a set of old books. Bound in some sort of primitive leather, they came from a donor who now wishes to remain anonymous.

Hobby Lobby arrived in Columbia earlier this month, riding a wave of interest in crafts and hobbies that has never been higher. The company’s 16th store in Missouri opened Sept. 4 at Broadway and Ash Street and held its grand-opening sale through Saturday.

The craft and hobby industry has grown by 26 percent in recent years. According to the most recent Craft and Hobby Association data, it is a $29 billion industry in the United States, up from $23 billion in 2000. More than 60 percent of American households participated in craft activities in 2002. The association estimates that frequent crafters can spend as much as $1,500 on supplies in a year.

JEFFERSON CITY — Missourians’ enrollment in employer-sponsored HMOs dropped more than 20 percent last year, continuing a five-year downward trend, according to a report released Thursday by the state Insurance Department.

At the same time, however, the percentage of Missourians who lacked insurance fell slightly. Eleven percent of Missourians were uninsured in 2003, compared to 15.6 percent nationally, and 11.6 percent in Missouri during 2002.

Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren met with international election officials Thursday to discuss U.S. election procedures.

The officials were part of Fair Election, an international election observation program made up of democratic countries around the world. Delegates travel to different states and convene to draft a report detailing what they learned from their visits. An eight-member delegation will return to the United States in November to view the election.